Architectural floodlights are used to light the exterior or interior of a building. These floodlights, also called luminaires, are used to highlight a building's attractive architectural features and to create a warm and welcoming ambience. They are also used to draw attention to retail displays, or other attractions, such as a public monuments, casinos, and skyscrapers.
Because luminaires often use high-powered LEDs, it is often necessary to block the light at certain viewing angles. For example, when lighting a building, a louver may be used to shield passing pedestrians or drivers from the powerful light sources. To prevent glare at certain viewing angles, a louver is often used to direct the light in a particular direction. Louvers use channels, slots, or other means to permit the light at one angle, or set of angles, but block the light at other angles.
Tooling a large louver from a single tool is often not feasible because large injection tools are difficult to manufacture. Additionally, tooling a large louver is expensive, produces long tooling lead times and doubles the cost of the tool. However, tooling separate louver designs may result in misalignment with the luminaire optics, and undesirably obstruct the LEDs, reducing light output.
Accordingly, there is a need in the art for a single louver design that does not require a large tool to manufacture, and that properly aligns with the luminaire optics when installed.